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VA care at Castle Point 'saved my father's life'

John Ferro, Poughkeepsie Journal 10:30 p.m. EDT June 11, 2014

The outpatient admissions clinic, lower left, at the VA Hudson Valley Health Care System Castle Point campus. This week, Castle Point was flagged for review in a nationwide audit of VA medical facilities.(Photo: Spencer Ainsley/Poughkeepsie Journal)

James Nenni, an 81-year-old Fishkill resident, owns his own contracting business and still works 10 hours a day. But last month, he suddenly fell ill.

He was weak. He could barely stand. No appetite.

Today, Nenni McNamee says her father, an Air Force veteran, is back on his feet because of the fast action of doctors at the Castle Point veterans hospital.

"They saved my father's life," she said.

Nenni's experience is typical at local service points within the Veterans Affairs Hudson Valley Health Care System, according to a Dutchess County official whose job it is to know.

"A lot of people are saying they are shocked by what is going on in other parts of the country — and that they are happy with services they have received (locally)," said Nelson Rivera, director of the Dutchess County Division of Veterans Services.

This week, Castle Point was flagged for further review in a nationwide audit of VA medical facilities in the wake of the growing scandal over scheduling practices.

The findings are preliminary and suggest only that there is reason to look deeper, the audit said.

Castle Point hospital is one of nine service points within the VA's Hudson Valley system, and the only one that was flagged.

In Dutchess County, the Hudson Valley system also includes outpatient clinics in Poughkeepsie and Pine Plains.

Nenni McNamee said that before Castle Point, she took her father to two private hospitals: St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh and MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.

She said the family waited for hours in the emergency rooms. She said no concrete diagnosis was made and her father was never admitted.

When his condition worsened, she took him to Castle Point.

"Within 20 minutes, they had him in urgent care," she said.

The initial diagnosis: infection from an undetermined tick-borne illness.

Nenni was admitted, put on antibiotics and back home after a week, his daughter said.

The care was "immediate," she said.

She said the family has never had a problem scheduling appointments for routine care.

The nationwide audit flagged 112 facilities for further review. The recommendation was based on concerns auditors raised over scheduling and access-management practices, or related statements made by staff who were interviewed.

But the report did not detail the concerns.

"We are still trying to determine specifics on the finding as they were not provided with the release of the report," Castle Point spokesman Michael Stern said.

The hospital said it will cooperate fully with any further audits, he said.